From the Delaware County Times: Tax Tips

To coincide with this week's blog series on tax preparation, here is an article from the Delaware County Times with some tax tips:

Top 10 Tax Tips for 2010-2011

Contributed by Cathy McKeever of Bond, Pezzano & Etze, PC and

Principal Tax Advisors, LLC

1) GET ORGANIZED – Good organization of your tax and financial information is key to claiming all tax benefits each year.

2) TAKE YOUR INFORMATION TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT – NOW! - Waiting until the last minute could mean missing tax deductions from your return.

3) BE CERTAIN THAT YOU ARE TAKING EVERY DEDUCTION YOU ARE ENTITLED TO.

4) MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL YOUR DEPENDENTS LISTED ON YOUR RETURN.

5) IF YOU SOLD STOCK IN 2010 – make sure you have your Cost Basis for the sale to minimize gain or to take a loss on your returns

6) Here are some of the ways to save tax dollars:

7) FULLY FUND YOUR 401K or Traditional IRA.

8) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TAX CREDITS YOU ARE ENTITLED TO:

a. CHILD CREDIT – for qualifying dependent children

b. CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT - for daycare expenses for working parents/caregivers

c. EDUCATION CREDITS – for tuition paid for post High School education

d. ENERGY CREDITS – for energy saving improvements to your primary home – heating systems, water heaters, insulation, windows and doors.

9) CONSIDER FUTURE TAX SAVINGS- with the help of your accountant

a. Consider converting a traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA – you have two years to pay tax on the conversion amount – may save taxes later

b. Plan Estimated tax payments for next year, if you owed this year.

10) MAKE A COMMITMENT TO MEET WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT FOR TAX AND FINANCIAL PLANNING –

a. Avoidable tax mistakes can be caught when you discuss your finances with your accountant!